Susan Ottaway - Sisters, Secrets and Sacrifice - The True Story of WWII Special Agents Eileen and Jacqueline Nearne

Once there the girls hoped to find a boat to take them out of the country but they were unaware of what conditions were now like outside their own sheltered world. Although both in their 20s – Jacqueline was by then 26 and Didi 21 – they were, after all, convent girls and had had protected lives thus far, being cosseted by their wealthy family. Although Jacqueline had travelled for her work before the war, she had had no experience of how everyday life in France had been affected after the German invasion. Neither girl had realized that because Marseilles was a port there were very rigorous checks, and they were distressed when they were refused permission to continue on their journey and were sent straight back to Grenoble.

Undaunted, they again contacted the British consulate to ask, this time, for advice on the best way to get to Britain, and were told to stay away from the coastline and try to get to Portugal via Spain. Portugal was officially neutral but had strong sympathies for the Allied cause. Spain, also officially neutral, favoured the Axis powers and there were German spies all over the country, but the sisters were sure that they would be able to reach England. The journey would still be dangerous, but they were determined to succeed and knew that they were better prepared than on their first attempt. Although it was a difficult time to be leaving their home and their parents, they had each other and each girl knew that she could rely on her sister completely.

In April they again said goodbye to their parents and this time they reached the Spanish border by train, managed to cross the country without problems and entered Portugal, where they were given transit visas enabling them to travel onwards to another country. Making their way to Lisbon, they went directly to the British consulate there and asked for more help. The consul told them that he would try to find them a ship to take them out of Portugal, so they booked into a small hotel, where they stayed for nearly three weeks, contacting the consulate at regular intervals to see if there was any information for them. Eventually the consul had news and it was good. He told them that he had found a ship that would soon be leaving for Gibraltar and the captain would be willing to take them on board. He gave them the name of the vessel and of the captain, and advised them to contact him as soon as possible.

The sisters immediately hurried down to the docks to meet the man, who was a jovial Englishman. He told them that although he had never carried passengers before he would be willing to take them, and so the arrangement was made. Jacqueline and Didi went back to their hotel, collected their bags and paid the bill. They returned to the ship and found that the captain had moved out of his cabin so that they could share it and have some privacy from the all-male crew on the voyage. When they reached their new quarters they could hardly believe what they found. The captain had filled the cabin with flowers for them and decorated other parts of the vessel with more flowers. It was such a kind gesture and they were very touched by his thoughtfulness. They reached Gibraltar without any problems and, after docking, had only three days to wait before continuing on the next stage of their journey. This time they were bound for Glasgow.

The entire expedition had taken around five weeks and had been very tiring but, in May 1942, as the ship made its way up the west coast of Scotland and into the river Clyde, Jacqueline and Didi were elated to have finally reached Britain. As they presented their passports they saw that some people were being directed to what seemed to be a holding area and discovered that they were refugees who had nowhere to go. Although the girls intended to stay with family friends in London, they were nervous that they too might be regarded as refugees, so they gave the name and address of a distant cousin, Mrs Plunkett of Heaton House, Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, 11 thinking that they might stand a better chance of going through the formalities successfully if it was believed that they were going to be living with family. Whether or not they were actually in danger of being classified as refugees is doubtful. But they had had enough of bureaucracy and didn’t want to take any chances, now that they were so close to their destination. They needn’t have worried. Handing back their passports, the official waved them through the barrier and they were free.

The train journey to London took hours and left them feeling exhausted. They eventually arrived and, looking for somewhere to get a drink and something to eat, they came across a Lyons Corner House and decided to order afternoon tea to celebrate reaching the capital. They sat down and looked around them at the other customers. Everything seemed so much better than it had been in France. They even spotted someone eating a piece of cake and could hardly believe their eyes; they had not seen such luxury for a long time. When the waitress came to take their order they asked for tea and then, rather hesitantly, enquired if there was any chocolate cake. The waitress, noticing their foreign accents, stood and glared at them, her hands on her hips, and then snorted in disgust and enquired sarcastically, ‘I suppose you have not heard there is a war on?’ 12 They didn’t get their cake that day but, remembering what they had just endured in order to reach the relative freedom of London, they laughed at the waitress’s reaction. Refreshed by cups of tea, they found their way to the home of their family friends, Odile and George, at 97 Darenth Road, Stamford Hill, N16. Now all they had to do was find some war work.

It had not occurred to either sister that they might have problems finding suitable work on arriving in England and as they began to receive rejection after rejection they started to become despondent. Surely there must be something suitable for two intelligent girls who were fluent in English and French?

Jacqueline applied to the Women’s Royal Naval Services – the WRNS – whose advertising slogan at that time was ‘Join the Wrens and free a man for the fleet’ and was called for an interview. She set off with high hopes, but these were dashed when she was told that they needed drivers. Her disappointment was compounded when she was rejected for the post of driver after admitting that she had never driven in the blackout. Didi fared no better. She almost obtained a position as a barrage-balloon operator but was deemed unsuitable for the role. The sisters were beginning to think that they had wasted their time and effort in coming to England. In desperation, they contacted the Ministry of Labour, stressing their language abilities.

Life in England wasn’t all a disappointment. Although Jacqueline and Didi stuck closely together there were times when they went their own ways and met new people. Soon after arriving in London Jacqueline met a young army cadet called Jimmie and they went out together a few times before he was posted. He extracted a promise from her to write to him and said that he would like to see her again when he came back to London on leave. He even told her that he had seen a brooch that he wanted to buy for her. 1 It was flattering, as he was obviously quite keen on her, but soon all thoughts of the new friendship were forgotten when Jacqueline received a letter, sent to Mrs Plunkett’s address in Cheshunt, from a Captain Jepson at the War Office. Dated 5 June 1942, it said:

Dear Miss Nearne,

Your name has been passed to me as that of someone possessing qualifications which may be of value in a phase of the war effort. If you are available for interview I would be glad to see you at the above address at 3.30 p.m. on Thursday 25th June, 1942.

I would be glad if you would let me know whether you can come or not.